How 30 Great Ads Were Made

14/

Honda

Cog

Wieden + Kennedy London

When Wieden + Kennedy in London launched its Honda Cog commercial in 2003, it caused surprise, delight and controversy in equal measure. Running at two minutes in length, the film is elegant and seemingly simple, showing an epic chain reaction constructed from parts of the Honda Accord car. Despite being intrinsically linked to the Accord, the spot was in fact originally written in response to a brief for the Honda Civic. ‘We wrote this for the Civic because the Civic absolutely felt like the beauty of function,’ says Ben Walker, who created the ad alongside Matt Gooden. ‘The Civic is Honda’s real baby; they’re more proud of that car than they are of their racing cars.… For them, the Civic is the embodiment ...